Ada_Rose

I am currently attending Rasmussen and I agree that it is very expensive. It is easy to get accepted into the program but we have also had a very high rate of people failing out of/needing to retake courses in the program. There is quite a bit of pressure to do well on exams. At my school If you fail to get a 78% average on all exams you will fail the course. If you fail two courses you are expelled from the program, this is the main reason my classmates have dropped out or are taking longer to graduate. In order to graduate, the school of nursing requires you to achieve a 90% probability of passing NCLUX on the ATI comp predictor, if you cannot pass this exit exam, you are not allowed to graduate or sit for NCLUX. This ensures the NCLUX pass rate scores remain high. This means it's possible to pay for the entire program, pass all your classes, and not be allowed to take NCLUX. Be sure to check if your program will qualify you to practice nursing in other states if you plan to work outside Florida, as some state Boards of Nursing may not accept all Rasmussen degrees. I will say my campus has wonderful instructors, and I feel I have learned a lot and grown as a nurse. If you are set on this school, it worth checking to see if there are local employers who are corporate partners with Rasmussen, as you can get a 10% tuition discount if you or a family member works for one of these companies. Best of luck with your nursing studies, A.R.

Hello Maria, I also started a nursing program right out of high school. My university had very competitive GPA, math and science requirements, and I had an undiagnosed math disability. After lots of struggle I dropped my nursing major. I graduated with a BA in Spanish, but my heart has always been in health care. I spent a few years working in home care and nursing homes. Eventually, personal growth, encouragement from co-workers, and an employer scholarship motivated me to go back to nursing school. I'm so glad I did and wish I had the maturity and confidence to do this earlier. I'm currently in an LPN program. I'll be graduating in the fall, and plan to work as an LPN and immediately begin work on a BSN. Choosing an LPN program has been really helpful. I had an 84 on the TEAS, but for me, LPN is a better first step. Sometimes it's good to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond. There is less pressure. I'm able to tutor my classmates and this really builds confidence, I'll be carrying over a lot of nursing knowledge into the BSN program. Financially, an LPN job and employer scholarships will help me pay for my continued education (I have a fair amount of student loans from my Spanish degree.) Counseling has been extremely helpful to work through my anxiety and self-esteem struggles. I highly recommend a counselor who is a competent mental health professional and can offer techniques to manage test anxiety, in addition to helping explore treatment options and evaluate options for continuing school. It's important to find someone you can trust who is a good match for you. Personally, it makes a big difference to have an experienced academic tutor (mine has an MA in education) who can teach test taking strategies. Having disability testing can also help. You may be eligible for accommodations, such as extra time to take exams. Nursing school is often a physical and psychological battle. Getting good nutrition and a full night of sleep before exams helps decrease anxiety for me, as does having extra time to study and as solid understanding of the material as possible. For me, that required dropping my work schedule to 15 hours a week. Reading your post, it sounds like you have a vocation for nursing. I hope you will persist and find the right situation for success in school. It is so worth it! Best of luck, Ada